Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1887-03-16
THE INDIANS GHOST.
How an Old Engineer Was Fright
ened by a Half-Dead Leaf.
youths Companion.l

youths Companion.l
eyes, was once pretty well frightened
by what 1 thought to be a ghost. Don't
look as though you did not believe me. 1t
iasrue. 1 tcos frightened for moment or
td.o half out of my wits" So said Joshua
Martin, an engineer on the Canadian Grand
Trunk railway, to his companions, sitting
in little station on that line one Decem-
Der night, snow-bound.
So it happened, perhaps on account Of
the gloomy surroundings and prospects,
that the men of the blockaded freight
train gathered nearer to their little stovo
and talked of ghosts.
II had q freight-train, which ran now and
then for the time bills were not arranged
then, and the traffic was provincial, though
such cars as did run had to keep to
schedule in the hands of the company's
officers. The Intercolonial, you know, is
partly built for British military purposes.
.'Well. down along the gulf of the St.
Lawrence there hang all kinds of tradi-
tions and legendary shadows. There are
creepy stories of Indian times and French
times which would fill book, and one of
our station-masters knew these stories by
the score, and nothing pleased him better
than to get any one who would listen to
his yarns.
''As a rule, people did not seem to care
much about listening to him; l don't know
why, for many of his stories were very in
torcSting. But one night it happened that
a lot of US were obliged to listen to him, as
we were much in the same position as we
are tonight. There had been block at
his crossing, and three trains were wait
ing. mine among them, bound west until
the track was cleared.
''Well, suppose old Nike as we called
him, talked for an entire evening on these
old things. We heard all ell about the
We're Wolf, which, according to the old
French belief, was very common in those
parts. We heard the blood-curdling
legends of the Perce rocks, and also of a
terrible denunciation pronounced by an
Indian chief upon those who, in after
years, should pass ever or occupy the ter
ritory of which he was dispossessed.
This chief, it seems, had made some
kind Of treaty with the advancing 'civi-
lizers,' which was broken, as usual, but
under unusually cruel and unjust circum-
stances. His daughter was killed before
his eyes, and he was forced to yield to the
advance of the conquering Europeans.
But his retreat was only for time, and,
dying, he pronounced malediction on all
who should occupy the territory from
which he had been driven. So terrible
had been his fury that the tradition still
lived, and among other features of its
edornment was the possible addition that
his spirit walked the earth, and woe to the
person who met the spectral and gigantic
form of the incenscd Indian. Belated trav-
elers and hunters had been known to en-
counter the visitation, and, of course, gos-
sip always had romance of their evil
fate.
81 suppose that listening to all these
stories in half-sleepy state in the hot
waiting-room had an unwholesome effect
en- me, for when the time came to go upon
the road again-and it was past eleven
before the track was clear-I began TO feel
kind of nervous, though, of course, as /
said to myself, ghost lore was lonesome,
and any away, l thought, railway train
was too modern a thing to be affected by
the spirit world.
''The night, too, was not unghostly 1t
was dark and lowering, with slight fur
ries OF sleet and the wind was fitful and
mournful in its path through the trees.
But OF had to go, over a track that ran
through the very heart of the elected In
dams territory ~ was just such a night,
thought, as an Indian might appear, and
perhaps railway train might be celt7ci,sl-
ly obnoxious to him. 1t was about the
was pronounced, according to 'Old Mike
so if the observance OF anniversaries was
the rule with ghosts, the ghost would be
very likely to show himself.
'tAll the while i was thinking of these
things l was flattering myself that there
were no such things as ghosts, and l was
not in the least afraid, and so on. Nor
was Lob novel;, you need not laugh,
was not. only i could not help the ideas
running through my head.
swell, of Invent alone on the engine, and
the brakeman in the rear. i had to travel
without stoker that trip As we went
out there was a little sleet and pretty
sharp wind, but we had not gone far be-
fore the temperature changed to cold, and
touch of frost took hold of things in gen
eraL felt the rails getting slippery, and
on one or two grades had to make free
with tho sand-boxes.
81 knew that if this continued l should
have hard work before me, and began TO
fire up a bit. While / was doing this,
/ suppose j forgot all about the stories of
| ghosts and phantoms, for when did look
ahead again felt just as though lump of
ice had gone down my back, and remem-
bered them once more, for there-right in
| front Of the engine-was what seemed TO
be the shadowy figure of human being
1t was twice as large as life, sharply yet
dimly shadowed out in the strong glare
rom the headlight, and seemed to be
waving its spectral arms in a manner that
might have meant warning or menace II
| seemed, also, to comfort itself at times as
| though in pain.
''At first did not know what to do or
think Idon't mind telling you. as I told
you before, that was thoroughly fright
ened- Fog, coupled with old Mixes story.
j think you will agree with me that it was
at least queer. The ghost of the Indian
appeared, so. he had told us, to people in
enlarged proportions, and by signs warned
and reminded them of the malediction he
intended for all who occupied his ancient
ratrimony.
Here was /, going through what had
once been his possessions. and in front of
the train was a spectral form, waving
Whit perhaps was his curse, or worse
still. foreboding i'll to the train was driv-
ing
while i was standing there, with
thoughts and fancies rushing through my
brain at race-horse speed, the Thing kept
the same position, now seeming to glide
/ quietly through the night. now moving its
horrsd arms with fierce and vehement ges-
ticulation, and then, when the fitful gusts
would viciOusly strike the engine, ft
seemed to dance and fiing itself about with
q fendish, gieeful contorfion, as though
passing once more through the motions OF
a war-danca
Il had ample time to note the hateful
presenca had many miles 70 run, and